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Sunday, August 29, 2010

Cincinnati Habitat's first green rated home is progressing nicely and should be ready for shingles and siding within the next couple weeks. The house is located in College Hill on 1141 Homeside and is slated to receive green building certifications from the National Association of Home Builders and Energy Star.

The design for the home came from a contest held by Habitat affiliates in Ohio and the Ohio American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment. Architects around Ohio entered hoping to have their green designs built by Habitat. Allison Beer and Jessica Farmer of SHP Leading Design won the contest and their design is the one currently being built in Cincinnati.

Check out Cincinnati Habitat's Green Building Blog for progress updates and green building info!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

UC will be holding another Re*use market from Aug.30-Sept. 1. The Re*use market occurs at the end of each term when students and teachers are typically getting rid of extra stuff. Anyone can go to the market and donate or pick up items for free! All extra stuff is donated to charity. It's a great way to prevent perfectly good items from taking up space in our landfills! 12:00pm-6:00pm daily at Old St. George on Calhoun.

Installing a low flow shower head is easy and can save up to 2/3 of your water during showering. Take a look at these easy installation instructions. Make sure to also pay attention to the instructions provided with your new shower head.

Request a $50 home energy audit from the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance. Comprehensive energy audits usually cost $300-$500. Take advantage of this great subsidy provided by GCEA. Once your audit is complete, energy experts can determine if any energy upgrades are needed. GCEA also provides financial incentives for these upgrades.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Over the past year, Cincinnati has been making steady improvements in infrastructure and initiatives aimed at making the city more bicycle friendly. In 2009, neighborhoods like Clifton, Northside, OTR, and East Walnut Hills made improvements to bicycle infrastructure. In June 2010, City Council approved Cincinnati's first comprehensive bike plan. The plan includes legislation that protects cyclists and adds 329 miles of bike friendly street infrastructure over the next 15 years. Some of the legislation has already been implemented throughout the city. Take a look at the progress!

Northside bike Corral (pictured above)

Located on Hamilton and Lingo, this recently installed bike corral can hold up to 12 bikes in one automobile parking spot. More of these should be coming to commercial areas around Cincinnati in the future. Northside has also added 28 other bike racks to the business district.

Parking garage ordinance

All new or expanded parking garages in Cincinnati will now have to provide 1 space of bicycle parking for every 20 spaces of automobile parking. Bicycle spaces max out at 24.

Safe distance lawPassed in late June, this legislation requires all drivers to give cyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing. The law also prohibites people from driving and parking in bike lanes. I can tell you from personal experience that this legislation was much needed. Hopefully the city has an advocacy or signage plan so everyone actually knows about the law.

Clifton bike parking29 bike racks were installed on Ludlow Avenue during the sidewalk renovation. Every parking meter has a metal ring for locking bicycles.

Dana bike lanesTwo automobile lanes were removed from Dana Avenue between Madison and Griggs to make room for the addition of bike lanes.

Ohio River TrailConstruction has been moving along on what will be 23 miles of trail from Coney Island to Sayler Park. The trail will eventually connect to the Little Miami Scenic Trail, which will connect all the way to Lake Erie when completed. http://ohioriverway.org/ohiorivertrail/

SharrowsYes, those arrows with the bikes on them do have a name. Sharrows were painted on areas of Clifton Ave., Ludlow Ave., and Madison Ave. as a pilot project by The City to test their effectiveness. The pilot project showed that bike ridership went up when sharrows were put in place.

Queen City-South Mill Creek Greenway TrailConstruction has already begun on this biking/hiking trail along the Mill Creek. When the first three phases are complete (around 2012), it will stretch from Mitchell Ave. to the Mill Creek Rd. Bridge. Over the next five years, plans involve connecting the trail to the Ohio River Trail at US 50.

MOBO bicycle coop has been added to the green directory! Located in Northside (1415 Knowlton), the coop's mission is too make cycling more practical and accessible for those in Cincinnati. For an annual fee of $20.00, you can use the shops tools and resources to work on your own bike. You can even adopt a donated bike.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

On Tuesday, I stumbled across some of the Over-the-Rhine Homegrown gardens while taking photos for the blog. I spoke with Mark, who told me a little about the program and how it works.

OTR Homegrown is a group dedicated to providing organically grown, healthy produce for the community. Through community involvement, the organization spreads the word about healthy eating and sustainable living. In 2010 OTR Homegrown has teamed up with Findlay Market, the Civic Garden Center, the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, and the City to increase production and distribution of healthy food.

Both gardens are on Pleasant st. just south of Findlay Market. OTR Homegrown is at Findlay Market Sundays 10AM-3PM and Tuesdays 3PM to 6PM. For information about volunteering and other initiatives , please visit the OTR Homegrown website.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Electrical outlets can cause problems for a home's thermal envelope. Air moves freely through wall and ceiling outlets, potentially ruining a homes insulation value. Check out this great DIY fix for those pesky outlets.